France has one of the most generous pension systems in the world. But several governments there have collapsed over questions about how the government will fund it. All over the world, aging populations are forcing governments to rethink their assumptions.
Today on the show, what France’s political fiascos teach all of us about the economics of an aging population, and what a retirement expert’s ideal retirement system might look like.
Mercer CFA Institute Global Pension Index 2025
Related episodes:
What would it take to fix retirement?
What does the next era of Social Security look like?
When Retirement Advice Goes Viral
For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator from Planet Money, subscribe to Planet Money+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Fact-checking by Sierra Juarez. Music by Drop Electric. Find us: TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Newsletter.
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What Next | Daily News and Analysis - Is Special Ed Getting Left Behind?
Children with disabilities' place in public schools—though legally mandated—has often been tenuous at best. Now the Trump Administration is targeting the department that oversees special ed. What does that mean for kids and their parents?
Guest: Pepper Stetler, author of A Measure of Intelligence: One Mother’s Reckoning with the IQ Test and professor at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio.
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Podcast production by Elena Schwartz, Paige Osburn, Anna Phillips, Madeline Ducharme, and Rob Gunther.
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What Next | Daily News and Analysis - TBD | Why Tesla Is Paying Elon a Trillion Bucks
Tesla shareholders just approved a trillion dollar (with a t!) pay package for Elon Musk. Is it enough incentive to keep him around the company and away from verbal spats with government officials? Because the whole Musk empire is still reeling from that dalliance.
Guest: Faiz Siddiqui, tech reporter at The Washington Post and author of Hubris Maximus: the Shattering of Elon Musk.
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More or Less - Is RFK Jr right about China’s diabetes rate?
The US Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr is on a mission to make America healthy again. One of his health-promotion ideas is to reduce chronic illness, specifically diabetes. And has part of his campaign he said that: "a typical pediatrician would see one case of diabetes in his lifetime, over a 40 or 50 year career. Today, 1 out of every 3 kids who walks through his office door is prediabetic or diabetic. Twenty years ago, there was no diabetes in China, today 50% of the population is diabetic' Diabetes does carry a huge burden of health, but are his numbers right and how much of a problem is diabetes in the US and around the globe? We speak to diabetes expert and co-author of the Diabetes Atlas, Professor Dianna Magliano to find out more. Presenter: Tim Harford Producer: Lizzy McNeill Series Producer: Tom Colls Studio Manager: Rod Farquhar Editor: Richard Vadon
Audio Mises Wire - Dystopia Misdiagnosed: How the Rich Drive Health Innovation
The dystopian futuristic movie Elysium portrays a terrible future in which only the rich have medical care while the poor suffer on an overpopulated, polluted planet. The film’s theme—that only huge wealth transfers can bring medical care to low-income people—is fundamentally flawed.
Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/dystopia-misdiagnosed-how-rich-drive-health-innovation
What Next | Daily News and Analysis - Bonus: SchadenFriday | Muslim, Millennial, Mr. Mayor Mamdani
Well well well. Looks like being a truculent, aging sex pest who clearly hates the constituency he aspires to rule only works in national elections. In New York City, Zohran Mamdani overcame the longshot odds that came from being charismatic, energetic, and actually interested in government.
Guest: Aymann Ismail, Slate staff writer and author of “Mamdani’s Win Is a Reminder of What’s Possible.”
This episode is member-exclusive. Listen to it now by subscribing to Slate Plus. By joining, not only will you unlock exclusive episodes of What Next —you’ll also access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. You can subscribe directly from the What Next show page on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Or, visit slate.com/whatnextplus to get access wherever you listen.
Podcast production by Elena Schwartz, Paige Osburn, Anna Phillips, Madeline Ducharme, and Rob Gunther.
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Audio Mises Wire - Hobbes’s Accidental Case Against the State
If Hobbes is right about human nature, then he is wrong about the state as a solution. Ironically, his key arguments for the state are actually key reasons against it.
Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/hobbess-accidental-case-against-state
What A Day - If Not A Recession, Why Does It Feel Like One?
After Tuesday’s election results, everyone seems to have gotten the message that affordability is king. Democrats, Republicans, and even President Donald Trump have been talking about the costs of various things, like healthcare, groceries, and Thanksgiving dinner ever since. But for a lot of Americans, making ends meet has been hard for a while. To talk more about the disconnect between what the Trump administration is saying about the economy and how Americans are feeling, we spoke with Stacy Vanek Smith. She’s a reporter for Bloomberg Businessweek and co-host of the Bloomberg podcast, Everybody’s Business.
And in headlines, the Federal Aviation Administration cancels flights across the U.S. reportedly to ease the strain on air traffic controllers during the longest ever government shutdown, California Democratic Representative Nancy Pelosi announces her retirement after nearly 40 years in Congress, and the jury in the case of the man who slung twelve inches of vigilante justice at a federal officer has reached its verdict.
Show Notes:
- Check out Stacey's podcast – https://tinyurl.com/y2zannt6
- Call Congress – 202-224-3121
- Subscribe to the What A Day Newsletter – https://tinyurl.com/3kk4nyz8
- What A Day – YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/@whatadaypodcast
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- For a transcript of this episode, please visit crooked.com/whataday
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What Next | Daily News and Analysis - TBD | The Nick Fuentes Problem
Nick Fuentes—an openly antisemitic, openly racist, openly sexist type who once was persona non grata in all but the unseemliest of online spaces—sat down with former Fox News star Tucker Carlson this week, setting off a debate between the “whoa whoa whoa, we’re not Nazis over here” branch of conservatives and the “well now, hold on a minute” wing.
Guest: Ali Breland, staff writer for The Atlantic and author of “The Firewall Against Nick Fuentes Is Crumbling.”
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The Indicator from Planet Money - Can air traffic controllers keep calm and carry on — without pay?
There’s one job that gets all the attention during a government shutdown: air traffic controllers. Today on the show, we spotlight why this job has taken on outsize political influence and one controller’s experience during the longest shutdown on record.
For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator from Planet Money, subscribe to Planet Money+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Fact-checking by Tyler Jones. Music by Drop Electric. Find us: TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Newsletter.
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